Process and apparatus for the manufacture of rock-candy.



W. J. RIGNEY. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROCK CANDY.APPLICATION FILED 0012.28, 1911. 1,031,1 99. Patented July 2, 1912.

4 sums-sun! 1. a;

Fig.1

coLlJMulA vLANouluwn co., WASHINGTON. D. C.

W. J. RIGNEY. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF'ROUK CANDY.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 28, 1911.

Patented July 2, 1912.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII co.,wAsmNu-rou. D. C.

W. J. RIGNEY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE or BOOK CANDY.

APPLICATION FILED 00128, 1911.

Patented July 2, 1912.

h I .u n H l 1 1 m d HH H H H H H H H H H W HH H H H H H H H H H HH H H1 w I I I H H H H H H H W I v A a HH H H H H H H H H H I 1 1 l HH H H HH HH H H H HH H H H H H H H H H HH H H H H H H H m H H H H HAJH H H H HFig.4

WITNESSES:

MM wm COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPII IO-.WASHINGTON, D. C.

W. J. RIGNEY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROCK CANDY. APPLICATIONFILED OCT. 28, 1911.

1,031,199. Patentd July 2, 1912.

to 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Fig. 6

wnugsses: 1 Wm 7 W COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO" WASHINGTON, 0. CI

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. RIGNEY, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ROCK-CANDY.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. RIGNEY, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of 12 St. Francis Place, Brooklyn, New York, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement in Processes and Apparatus for theManufacture of RocleGandy, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to processes and apparatus for the production ofrock candy.

It has for its object to greatly lessen the cost of production of rockcandy.

It has also for its object the production of a process of manufacture ofrock candy which is automatically controlled and permits the employmentof unskilled labor.

It also has for its object the production of apparatus whereby theprocesses containing the invention may be carried out.

It also has for its object the manufacture of rock candy from lowtemperature syrup and at a low degree of saturation.

It also has for its object the production of a process wherein rockcandy of uniform size will be produced, and a process wherein the sizeof the candy will not only be uniform but may be varied and controlledas may be desired.

In the processes now known in the art the syrup is superheated to a hightemperature to produce a supersaturation of the sugar solution and thesolution thus formed crusts over the top of the syrup and over the wallsand bottom of the container and as the body of the syrup cools veryslowly and while it remains very quietly the candy is gradually formedon the strings, the crystallization on the strings at the bottom of thecontainer being very much greater than on the strings at the top forminglarger sticks at the bottom of the container. Some of the sticks ofcandy formed on the strings at the top are frequently so small that theyare quite useless for market purposes. A great deal of sugar is lost bythe processes. The crust forming over the top of the syrup and over thesurfaces of the container has to be scraped and knocked off andcollected and reboiled. The liquor must remain perfectly quiet or thewhole mass will turn at once into an amorphous condition forming a solidmass of sugar inclosing the strings, the whole soldily embedded in thecontainer from which it cannot be removed without great difficulty. Aslight jar of the container or a jar of the building in which theSpecification of Letters Patent.

Application filed October 28, 1911.

Patented July 2, 1912.

Serial No. 657,252.

the size of the candy is uniform and may be controlled and requireslittle heat, it being raised to a point very much below boiling point.The process also has many other advantages as will appear hereinafter.

The invention may be contained in many processes and embodied in manyconstructions, what I have shown in the drawings and describedhereinafter being merely one of the many processes and constructionswhich contain the invention. It is described and illustrated to showthat such processes and apparatus are practical and useful.

Referring to the figures, Figure 1 illustrates the evaporator and thesystem of tanks used in the manufacture of rock candy. Fig. 2 is a sidesectional view showing the relation between the vats in which thecrystals are formed. Fig. 3 illustrates the metallic frame forsupporting the strings on which the candy is formed. Fig. 4 is asectional View showing the arrangement of the frames. Fig. 5 is a topview of the arrangement shown in Fig. 4f. Fig. 6 illustrates a rackwhich is used for supporting the frames.

The syrup is first mixed in any suitable receptacle and may be directedto the system by any suitable pipe or trough or launder such as the pipe1' shown in Fig. 1. It

maybe directed to a container 2 or it may water ejector 4, which drawsthe liquid from the container 2, through the regulating valve 5 into theevaporator by way of pipe 62 and through the port 6. The heating of theliquid is accomplished by means of steam which enters the chamber 7 andpasses into the pipes 8 which are open at the one end.

They deliver the water of condensation into the steam chamber 7. Theliquid 9located at the bottom of the evaporator is directed to the topof the evaporator and allowed to stringed frames.

pass through a plurality of pipes 10 having openings 11 whence theliquor falls over the pipes 8. The liquor is circulated by means of pump12. It passes through the regulating valve 13. A by path 11 branchesfrom the circulating system to the crystallizing vats 15. The branchingpipe 141 has a regulating valve 16. It conducts the fluid to thereservoir 17 which may be filled with the liquid from the evaporator,when it has been suitably heated and when a portion of the solvent hasbeen removed and the liquor reduced to proper degree of sat uration. Thefluid then passes through the circulating valves 18 into a plurality ofcontainers. The liquid may first pass through the trough and then intothe containers. The regulating valves 13 and 16 regulate the heat of theliquor and also the degree of saturation. If the receptacle 17 is filledthe flow of the liquor through the valves 18 will increase, owing to theincrease of pressure. This will also raise the level of the liquor inthe containers 15 above the ports for the liquor and will consequentlyincrease the flow through the containers. The containers 15 are providedwith stand pipes 19 which extend tothe bottom of the containers and arealso provided with funnel tops 20 for receiving the liquor from thereceptacle 17 which may be made in the form of a trough of any desireddepth. Each container is provided with the port 21 which is adapted tofeed the liquor into the stand pipes of the container located below itinthe course of circulation, the liquor finally passes into the trough 22and back to the container 2. The liquor may be drawn off through thevalves 23 and pipe 24:. Each of the containers may be connected to thepipe 21 in the same way, in order that all of the liquor may be drawnthrough the system. The liquoris then drawn through the pipe 26 andvalve 5 into the evaporator thereby accomplishing the complete circuitof the sys tem. In each container is located the means for causing thecrystallization of the sugar. Each container is provided with a bank ofA frame is shown in detail in Fig. 3. The frame 30 is made of flatmaterial preferably of metal. It is provided with slots 81 which extendfrom opposite edges of about one quarter the width of the frame. The endof the thread is knotted and placed in the first slot or it may besecured by tying, or properly overlapping the end by winding the threadas may be desired. The thread is passed across the frame into the slotin the opposite side and then to the next slot on that side edge andback to the first side and to the next slot on the same edge and so onback and forth and then to the bottom of the frame until all the slotsare used and the frame is strung. This provides the means whereby thestringing of the containers may be readily completed. The frames aremade of thin material and are laid crosswise to each other in successionas shown in Fig. 1. This prevents the frames from being locked togetherby the crust of sugar which is apt to be deposited upon the articlescontained in the containers. The frames are supported in racks. A rackis shown in detail in Fig. 6. It is made of metal flats which aresuitably tied together. The bottom 41 and one of the walls 4L2 areformed with angle irons 4L3 which are tied together by means of the ties14. The wall 45 is removable and its parts are tied together by the ties46. The ends of the rods forming the side 45 is provided with pins 17adapted to enter the eyes 18 formed in the angle irons 13. The endsconsist of the tie 49 which is provided with holes through which thepins 50 pass. It is secured by cross pins 51. The tie is connected tothe bottom by means of the hook rod 52. .The ends are provided with eyes53. A crane or other suitable device may be connected to the eyes 53 andthe rack lifted from the container. The hook 54: engages the bottom andthe pins engage the sides. The racks are also provided with legs 55 forsupporting the rack free from the bottom of the container, to bring thestrings away above the bottom and above the end of the stand pipe 19.The racks are inserted side by side in the containers as shown in Figs.4: and 5. The stand pipe 19 extends to a point below the lowest stringedframe. The liquor en- 100 tering the stand pipe 19 is heavy with itsdissolved sugar and enters quietly the bot-- tom of the container andspreads over the bottom and below the lowest frame. The

liquor rises to the port 21 and as it rises it 5 passes over thestrings, the sugar being removed from the liquor and crystallizing onthe strings as it moves along so that the rate of deposit is uniform.The size of the candy will thus be uniform throughout the 110 system. Ifit is desired to manufacture small candy the frames may be removed at anearly stage of the process and if it is desired to make larger candy itis allowed to remain in the flowing liquor for a long period of time.

The syrup may be mixed in a suitable agitator or mixing receptacle andthen directed to the receiver 2 through the pipe 1. It may then be runthrough the evaporator to be. heated and some of the solvent, thatis,the water, may be removed to bring the solution to uniform degree ofdensity but preferably not to the condition of supersaturation; Thedegree of density will depend upon the coeflicient of purity of thesugar. The sugar syrup is merely warmed to about or and while still warmit is directed to the crystallizing tanks. The syrup is run very slowlythrough the tanks or if desired 1 it may be run't-hrough at intervals.The sugar crystallizes when it strikes the threads or the crystals onthe threads. It will grad ually and uniformly build up the crystals asit passes along, the crystals or threads of the lastcontainer of eachseries removing all of the sugar above a very low degree of saturation.The heavy liquor is passed to the bottom of each container and theliquor rises progressively from the bottom as it becomes less dense byremoval of the sugar. It likewise proceeds progressively through thecontainers. The valves of the system control the rate of flow and thisrate of flow is balanced by the reservoir 17. If the depth of the liquorin the reservoir is increased, the rate of flow into the containers andconsequently through the containers is increased by reason of theincreased pressure produced at the exits of the reservoir. The crystalsthroughout the system build uniformly by reason of the uniformdifference of the heat of each crystal and that of the surroundingliquor, and, also, because of the removal of liquor as it becomes lessdense by reason of its crystallization and renewal of fresh liquor ofuniform density about each crystal. In case of intermittent flow of theliquor substantially the same occurs except that uniformity existsinversely as there is nonintermittence. When the crystals become thedesired size they may be removed by lifting the racks carrying theframes from the crystallizing tanks. Racks with newly threaded framesare again inserted in the liquor in the place of those removed while theprocess is going on.

The constructions and the processes described may be greatly varied bythose skilled in the arts and yet such processes and constructions Wlllstill contam my invention. What I'claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is the following 3. The process of manufacture of rockcandy consisting in directing a syrup circuitously through one or morecontainers having threads and evaporating a portion of the solvent ofthe sugar forming the syrup at the temperature at about 180 Fahrenheit.

4. The process of manufacture of rock candy consisting in evaporating aportion of the solvent of a syrup by suction, while below boiling pointand above 150 Fahrenheit and continuously directing the resultant syrupto the bottom of one or more containers having threads and continuouslycollecting the syrup produced from the top of each container.

5. In an apparatus for manufacture of rock candy, the combination of anevaporator, means for heating the contents of the said evaporator, acontainer having threads strung cross-wise the said container and meansfor causing the syrup to flow through the said evaporator and the saidcontainer, and means for directing liquor to the bottom of the saidcontainer.

6. In an apparatus for manufacture of rock candy, the combination of anevaporator, means for heating the contents of the said evaporator, aplurality of containers containing threads adapted to receive the liquidfrom the said evaporator, means for collecting the liquid from the topof each container and for directing the liquid to the bottom of eachcontainer, means for causing a flow of the liquid through the saidevaporator and the said container.

7. In an apparatus for manufacture of rock candy, the combination of anevaporator, a crystallizing tank containing suspended threads and acirculating pump for causing continuous movement of the syrup throughthe evaporator and the crystallizing tank.

8. The process of manufacturing rock candy, consisting of the gradualdevelopment of the crystals by the continuous evaporation of the syrupand the circuitous flow of the liquor over crystallizing strings.

In testimony whereof. I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VILLIAM J. RIGNEY.

Witnesses:

F. F. CRAMITON, MILTON G. BUCKY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

